Look for a skeet and trap gun?

Hello All;
My cousin is looking for a shotgun for skeet and clay shooting. She is looking for a 20ga over and under. She has her eye set on a Browning 625 Sporting model. But with an msrp of around $3600.00. She is open to something comperable. She is just getting into the shooting sports and this will be her first one. She has been using a Browning 525 in 12 ga and says its a little too much. recoil wise. Any suggestion would be welcome. Thank you.

CTD sells the Citori's for cheap.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/32658-1.html

$2,968.90

She needs to go try on several for fit. Fit is everything in the shotgun game.

Since you are in FL, go to Academy Sports and check out the Yildiz O/U youth model in 20g. The guns are made in Turkey and imported for Academy. They also come with laser ingraved quail inlays and some of the nicest wood that I have seen on a gun. I have two of the standard models with 28" barrels and shoot skeet on a regular basis with mine. The youth model comes with 26" barrels an a 1.5" shorter LOP. I purchase a standard one for my son Thursaday night since he had a great time shooting mine. Price is $399 for the standard and $599 for hand engraving. Don't let the price fool you. They are well made guns. Briley is the service company for them. I'm sure that company would not service a non quality product. I would never spend $2000-3000 on something to later find out that I don't like it as much as I thought. This would really make a nice starter gun and a great back-up to a nicer gun later on if she sticks to the shooting sport. Do a search on them. There were no bad reports to speak of. Shoot me an email and I will send you pics of mine. The wood is unbelievable on both of them.

1) Stay away from Spanish, Turkish, and South American guns with attractive price points.

2) Guns like the ones she is shopping for are very, very hard to wear out and most are re-buildable several times at intervals of having shot several hundred thousand rounds.

3) Seriously consider buying used, take someone who knows what to look for in a used shotgun (loose ribs, oil soaked wood, poorly done barrel work)

4) You can buy ported guns at deep discounts now as they have mostly fallen out of favor. They don't really work, are louder than hell, and get filthy.

5) Check www.shotgunworld.com and www.trapshooters.com classifieds. Look for guns that say they are "unaltered" from the factory original OEM specs. Trapshooters specifically are the worst of the lot when it comes to fucking up guns to help them shoot more better.

6) If she's not shooting 23/25 or 80/ 100 consistently, maybe the Browning isn't the best fit. I had a 325 I could shoot blindfolded but when the 425 come out it just did not work for me. Now I shoot Berettas.

There are a lot of shotgunning venues in Florida. Should be no problem for her to try a bunch of guns and find one she likes. Also, if recoil is a problem don't rule out a very pretty auto...20 ga. 391 Urika II Gold Sporting with 30" barrels is a hell of a nice gun and she will save some money.

If I were your cousin, I would call this guy yesterday - ...and that ain't no shit.

Found this on trapshooters.com. Guaranteed it won't last at that price.

There was a nice 12ga Citori in the box for $1K on the Tucson backpage this AM. I wouldn't recommend a 20. Shells too expensive, and recoil really isn't much difference. Light 12 ga 1oz or 7/8oz loads will be very comperable. I would be all over this, if I didn't already have the same one:

http://tucson.backpage.com/SportsEquipForSale/1000-browning-citori-with-browning-case/16674310

It is probably not prudent to spend over $2K on a shotgun when you are "just getting into" trap and skeet. That level requires a Remington 1100.

My Citori Lighting:

12 and 20 shells are the same price everytwhere. 28 and .410 are where the factory new shell ass rape comes into play.

Even if she's just getting into it, she's still looking at guns worth a few bucks, and this is one she would always be able to get her money back out of if she went a different direction. To some people, $2-3K isn't a big deal.

There is another plain jane XS on trapshooters right now for $1200

Hell, I might buy that little Browning and I don't even care for Browning shotguns. It's that nice and that good of a deal.

I just picked this 1980 citori up at the gun show today for under 900. Fooled me, looks almost brand new.

So what should you look for in barrel length, or does it matter? I see a lot of 28" and 30" over/unders out there. If you are just getting in the trap game what are the things your shotgun should have choke wise, barrel length etc?

Trap is a game of long barrels, tight chokes, and 80/20 (or higher) point of impact. It's a game of robo-guns with adjustable combs, adjustable butt plates, hydraulic recoil reducing devices, and ribs that sit inches above the barrel.

Mostly though, it's a place where 75 year old white guys can get together to bitch about everything.

I would look into getting a 1100 20ga Skeet, great starter gun and look later at a lifelong O/U, will be looking at Beretta, Browning, also check out Ruger Red labels.

This man speaks the truth––especially if you're schedule allows you do go shoot on weekdays. As sampling of last weeks topics: cataract surgery, hip replacement, ankle surgery, people dying, knee replacement, eating pigs ears, weather, chickens....

And, to keep this on topic:

Perceived recoil can vary a LOT depending on the gun and how it fits.

Remember that skeet =/= trap. That said, I'm of the opinion that a recreational shooter* can get by with a 32" bbl sporting clays gun (like a Beretta SP1 sporting-long, yet fairly light barrels) for all clays games. Really no reason to spend $3500 on a first gun.

*recreational shooter here defined as someone who likes to shoot, like to do well, but isn't going to lose sleep over dropping 4 targets in a round of trap. Mostly concerned with having fun and being good enough to not look silly.

I prefer to embarrass folks with a Wal-mart 870. I have never used a tight choke for trap.

If you have a $3000 shotgun, a trap vest, and a toe protector, you better be able to break some clays.

>snip<

Mostly though, it's a place where 75 year old white guys can get together to bitch about everything.


Believe it or not, the local trap club isn't full of old guys with the britches hiked up complaining about the Gov't full time. I was amazed. That's why I am considering it.

What about Stoeger Condor Competition for an entry level o/u?

1) Holy shit

2) Bad idea. You're buying a headache. Find a nice used 1100 or 870 Trap on shotgunworld.com or trapshooters.com.

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